Nigerian histories trace guidance and counselling to career talks at one Ibadan school. Nearly seven decades later, counselling has its own law, a statutory council and a professional body marking 50 years. Here’s how it got there, and what the field looks like in 2026.
Guidance and counselling in Nigeria is usually dated to 1959 career talks at a school in Ibadan. It became a profession from 1975, through CASSON and university departments, and a 2022 Act now regulates counselling practice.
In 2026 the field is at a turning point. A new council is only starting to register counsellors, and school services are still uneven. If you want the basics first, read what guidance and counselling means.
Timeline at a glance
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1908–1909 | Frank Parsons opens the Vocation Bureau in Boston in January 1908. His book Choosing a Vocation comes out in 1909, after his death. |
| 1959 | Catholic sisters at St Theresa’s College, Oke-Ado, Ibadan, run career talks for their final-year students. |
| 1963 | A guidance workshop is held at Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro. |
| After 1970 | Following the civil war, the federal government funds master’s scholarships in guidance and counselling. |
| 1975–1976 | Inaugural meetings at the University of Ibadan found the Counselling Association of Nigeria. |
| 1976 | Ibadan creates a Department of Guidance and Counselling, and Ilorin starts a counselling programme. |
| 1977 | The first National Policy on Education is published. |
| 1981 | The revised policy says counsellors will be appointed in post-primary schools. |
| 1981/82 | Nsukka starts a B.Ed with a guidance and counselling option. Ilorin gets a full department. |
| 1992 | The association adopts the name CASSON. |
| 2017–2018 | A National Policy on Counselling is approved, then unveiled. |
| 2022 | The Counselling Practitioners Council of Nigeria Act becomes law. |
| 2025 | The Council’s governing board is inaugurated in April. |
| 2026 | CASSON marks 50 years, and the Council prepares to open registration. |
Where the idea came from
The modern idea of guidance is usually traced to careers advice. Frank Parsons, an American reformer, opened the Vocation Bureau in Boston in 1908 to help young people choose work. His method had three parts: understand yourself, understand the world of work, and reason carefully about how the two fit.
Nigeria’s version grew up mainly in schools, and it has stayed there. A chapter on Nigeria in the American Counseling Association’s book Counseling Around the World notes that most counselling here is practised in schools, especially secondary schools.
1959 to the 1970s: from career talks to a national need
Nigerian histories usually date organised school guidance to 1959. That year, Catholic sisters at St Theresa’s College, Oke-Ado, Ibadan, ran career talks for their final-year students. It was one school’s own initiative, not government policy, but later writers treat it as the starting point.
Other schools and officials followed. A 2004 history by Oyaziwo Aluede and colleagues records a guidance workshop at Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro, in 1963. It also describes the Federal Ministry of Education later appointing C. I. Berepiki to coordinate guidance services.
After the civil war ended in 1970, demand for counsellors grew. According to the same history, the federal government gave scholarships for master’s degrees in guidance and counselling at Nigerian universities. The first National Policy on Education followed in 1977.
1975 to the 1990s: a profession takes shape
CASSON
The Counselling Association of Nigeria grew out of an inaugural meeting at the University of Ibadan on 15 November 1975. Further inaugural meetings and its first national conference followed at Ibadan in June 1976.
CASSON has held a national conference nearly every year since then, usually in August and in a different host city; the 2020 conference was postponed because of COVID-19. The association was known as CAN until 1992, when it adopted the name CASSON at its conference at Bayero University, Kano.
Suggested read: What Is Guidance and Counselling? Meaning and Types
University departments
University training started in 1976:
- University of Ibadan: its Department of Guidance and Counselling was carved out of the old Department and Institute of Education in 1976.
- University of Ilorin: a guidance and counselling programme started in 1976, when the university began teaching. Its first graduates came out in 1979, a master’s was approved in 1980/81, and a full department followed in 1981/82. Ilorin describes itself as the second university with a full department, after Ibadan. Its first MPhil and PhD students were admitted in 1984/85.
- University of Nigeria, Nsukka: its B.Ed with a guidance and counselling option began in 1981/82.
Today, several federal universities offer degrees in guidance and counselling, including Ilorin, Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka and Ibadan.
The 1981 policy
The 1981 revision of the National Policy on Education said career officers and counsellors would be appointed in post-primary schools. The reasons it gave were that many young people knew little about career prospects, and that some pupils struggled with personal adjustment. It also wrote guidance and counselling into teacher education.
The 2000s and 2010s: policy catches up
The National Policy on Education went through further editions in 1998, 2004 and 2013. The 2013 edition is the latest full edition we could find.
Counsellors argued that the policy said too little. A 2010 paper in the Edo Journal of Counselling said its planners saw the need for guidance but didn’t spell out its scope or objectives.
A dedicated National Policy on Counselling followed. It was developed in 2016, approved by the National Council on Education in July 2017 and unveiled in Abuja in November 2018. It sets out counsellors’ duties and how they work with other school staff. At the launch, the minister of education said schools had offered counselling for almost 60 years without a national policy to guide it.
2022 onwards: counselling becomes a regulated profession
The Counselling Practitioners Council of Nigeria Act became law in 2022. It created a council that keeps a register of counsellors and sets standards. Under the Act:
- full registration as a Professional Counsellor needs an approved course, a pass in a competence exam run by CASSON and moderated by the Council, and certified membership of CASSON;
- CASSON appoints six members of the Council’s board;
- practising for reward as a registered Professional Counsellor, or using a title that implies you are one, without registering is an offence;
- counsellor posts in government and in companies are meant for registered counsellors.
The Council’s board was inaugurated in Abuja in April 2025. In October 2026, its website still says the registration portal is “opening soon”. CASSON’s own credentials, Certified Counsellor of Nigeria (CCN) and Licensed Professional Counsellor of Nigeria (LPCN), are association credentials, not a government licence. Our guide on how to become a therapist in Nigeria explains the full route.
Where guidance and counselling stands in 2026
| Area | Position in October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Law | Counselling practice is regulated by the Counselling Practitioners Council of Nigeria Act 2022 |
| Regulator | The Council’s board has been in place since April 2025; registration is only starting |
| Professional bodies | CASSON is in its 50th-anniversary year. APROCON, another counsellors’ association, held its 10th annual conference in August 2026 |
| Training | Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes at several federal universities |
| Policy | The National Policy on Education (latest edition found: 2013) and the National Policy on Counselling (2017–18) |
| Schools | No national count of school counsellors; local studies show gaps |
The law has changed most. For most of its history, counselling in Nigeria regulated itself through CASSON. Since 2022, it has a statutory council, though the register is still being set up.
The profession is active. CASSON marked its 50th year with a Golden Jubilee lecture in February 2026 on five decades of counselling practice in Nigeria. It planned its 2026 conference for Uyo.
Suggested read: How to Become a Therapist in Nigeria: 4 Routes (2026)
Schools are still uneven. No one has published a national count of school counsellors. Local studies give a sense of the gap: in Benin City in 2005, only 25 of 96 public secondary schools had a practising counsellor.
Beyond the school gate
Counselling in Nigeria still centres on schools, but it reaches much further now. The University of Ibadan’s department, for example, lists specialisms in career, educational and school, marriage and family life, youth and adolescent, remedial and reformatory, and HIV/AIDS prevention counselling.
Counselling has also moved online. On Mytherapist.ng, users can book licensed therapists for individual or couples sessions by video, voice or chat, or join a therapy circle, a small group led by a licensed therapist. Our guide to the types of counselling explains the main options.
Frequently asked questions
When did guidance and counselling start in Nigeria? Nigerian histories usually date organised guidance to 1959, when career talks were held for final-year students at St Theresa’s College, Oke-Ado, Ibadan. It grew into a profession from 1975, with CASSON and the first university departments.
Where did guidance and counselling start in Nigeria? In Ibadan. St Theresa’s College held the 1959 career talks, CASSON’s inaugural meetings took place at the University of Ibadan in 1975 and 1976, and the same university set up a Department of Guidance and Counselling in 1976.
When was CASSON founded? CASSON grew out of an inaugural meeting at the University of Ibadan on 15 November 1975, followed by further inaugural meetings and its first national conference in June 1976. It was called CAN until 1992.
Which Nigerian university first offered guidance and counselling? The University of Ibadan, which set up a Department of Guidance and Counselling in 1976. The University of Ilorin started a programme the same year. Ilorin’s own history calls Ibadan’s the first full department and its own, from 1981/82, the second.
Is counselling regulated in Nigeria? Yes. The Counselling Practitioners Council of Nigeria Act of 2022 created a council to register and regulate counsellors, and its board was inaugurated in April 2025. Registration is only starting, so check the Council’s current requirements before you apply.
What is the National Policy on Counselling? A federal policy, approved in 2017 and unveiled in 2018, that sets out the duties of counsellors and how they work with other school staff. It sits alongside the National Policy on Education, which has mentioned counsellors since 1981.
